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LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - WPP, the world's
biggest advertising company, said net sales fell 3.3% in the
first quarter, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic dragging
it down by 7.9% in March alone, prompting it to cut more costs.
It said it expected the impact from the virus to increase in
the short term, but could not say by how much.
The owner of the Ogilvy, Grey and Hill+Knowlton agencies has
already set out steps to cut around 2 billion pounds in 2020 to
see it through a downturn in client spending, including pulling
the dividend and a share buyback.
It said on Wednesday it had strong cash and liquidity and
could flex costs against a range of scenarios to manage profit
and cash flow.
"We expect the impact of COVID-19 on our business to
increase in the short term, but it is not possible to quantify
the depth or duration of the impact," it said.
"We are nonetheless confident that, through our scenario
planning, we are well positioned to take further action if the
downturn is prolonged and to respond positively when the market
picks up."
Amongst additional cost saving measures it is taking, it has
introduced a voluntary salary sacrifice from over 3,000 senior
roles, part-time working and some permanent headcount
reductions.
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
